EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SC GAMING Graphics Card w/4 GB GDDR5 Memory and ACX 2.0

Description: EVGA GeForce (NVIDIA) GTX 970 SC GAMING Graphics Card with 4 GB of GDDR5 Memory and ACX 2.0 (Dual-Fan / Heatsink) Cooling Thank you for your interest in this item and please visit our store for other offerings. We have very reasonable shipping terms and combine orders to save money (for customers) on shipping costs. We also maintain customer friendly return/refund/exchange policies. Product Description: Listing Update...This is not so much an update as it is a brief comment about the computers and related parts I have available for sale. Personal computers (and in particular desktop computers) have always been a hobby of mine. I've enjoyed tinkering with this stuff over the years and have accumulated a number of items during this time...some new and some used. I am not an expert on the subject...more of an enthusiast...but I will still do my best to answer any questions as it relates to my computer related listings. Thank you. Original Listing... This offering is for a used EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SC (Superclocked) Gaming graphics card with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and their ACX 2.0 (dual-fan/heatsink) cooler. "ACX" is an acronym for "Active Cooling Xtreme" and the "2.0" reference is an indicator that this is a second generation cooler. Based on my research/experience, it performs (cools) as one of the best-in-class for a GTX 970. The respectable heatsink includes three copper heat pipes integrated into a fin stack that stretches the entire length of the fan shroud and PCB. Although, it's the EVGA fans that are the difference maker (especially as it relates to this second generation cooler). EVGA has improved their fan motor, added more fan blades, increased the strength of the magnets and retained their patented double bearing design. This results in a more powerful and efficient fan that should last longer than other fans. I can confirm that while I've replaced many graphics card fans over the years, I've yet to replace an EVGA fan. Finally, I want to highlight the reasonable size of this graphics card for a dual-fan model from this era. At just under 10" long and less than 4 1/2" tall (so even with the height of the rear shield), it's by no means a small graphics card. Although, I have noticed that such models with these dimensions will fit in some relatively small mini tower pre-built cases, while those that are longer/taller will not. You will still want to measure your space for a graphics card in your particular case, but this is something to keep in mind. The graphics card incorporates GeForce 900 Series technology (Maxwell architecture) released by NVIDIA in 2014. So it's an older graphics card and should not be considered as an equivalent to many of today's newer and more expensive offerings. Fortunately, this Maxwell architecture closes the gap on next generation/entry-level 10 Series (Pascal architecture) graphics cards and begins to close the gap on even newer/entry-level 16 Series (Turing architecture) graphics cards. For example, this GTX 970 is going to be more powerful than a GTX 1050/1050 Ti or a GTX 1630. Next generation/newer comparables would be a GTX 1060 (the 3GB model) or a GTX 1650 (with GDDR5 memory). In other words, these latter graphics cards would all likely perform within the margin of error, depending on the game or application. Notwithstanding the architecture and cooler discussion, this graphics card is still a "value-play" relative to newer and more expensive models, but for those that enjoy gaming in their spare time, this GPU has decent capabilities (especially at "1080p"). Newer big-budget ("Triple-A" or "AAA") titles will be a challenge (even at lower settings), but casual and less demanding games (new and old) should offer a better experience at higher details. In other words, this graphics card should play (and meet the minimum requirements for) many games, as long as you are willing to dial down the settings when necessary. However, before I offer any of my graphics cards for sale, I thoroughly inspect and clean them (and perform minor repairs when necessary). More specifically (and as it relates to this particular offering), I carefully disassembled this graphics card so I could inspect the PCB, heat-sink, fans and fan shroud. This allowed me to clean these component pieces with high pressure air and apply new thermal paste on the heat spreader that covers the GPU die. I also inspected the thermal pads and noted they were in really good shape, so there was no need to replace them. Lastly, the fans still spin like new, which I have come to expect with EVGA fans, as they seem to be among the best in terms of longevity. Once I have completed the refurbishing of the graphics card, I then install it in a new computer with updated drivers for stress testing. This particular graphics card was briefly installed in a newly built Ryzen 7 system with 16 GB of DDR4 memory, 1 TB of SSD storage, a 600 watt bronze rated power supply and a mid-tower case with good air flow. For those that are interested in the details of my stress testing approach, I load the following freeware programs: 3DMark Demo, GPU-Z, FurMark, HWMonitor, Unigine Heaven and Superposition. Some of these programs help to identify the graphics card and monitor it's performance, while others attempt to stress it. More specifically, here is my approach to stressing the graphics card to give me some assurances that it will function according to manufacturers specifications. First, I run GPU-Z and HWMonitor to identify and monitor the graphics card when idle and under heavy load. Then I run Unigine Heaven for maybe 30 minutes to an hour and include a few benchmark runs during this time. I follow this up with 3DMark Demo and choose the Time Spy and Fire Strike programs, because they both have a dedicated graphics test. Next, I run the Unigine Superposition benchmark maybe a handful of times. Finally, I run FurMark for maybe another 20-30 minutes (or until temperatures appear to level off). It's been my experience that if one of my used graphics cards is able to make it through this battery of graphics intensive stress tests without any issues, then it is ready for service. Follow-up...I am getting some folks that are asking questions about any scores recorded during some of the testing. I don't know them all, but I do write down a few, and will share them here... Unigine (two runs at high detail): Heaven: 2991 (118.7 fps) / 2988 (118.6 fps) Superposition: 5746 (43.0 fps) / 5745 (43.0 fps) 3DMark Demo Time Spy (two runs): First: 3953 (Graphics: 3688 / Processor: 6679) Second: 3952 (Graphics: 3689 / Processor: 6645) Fire Strike (two runs): First: 10943 (Graphics: 12210 / Processor: 19503 / Combined: 4492) Second: 10940 (Graphics: 12208 / Processor: 19531 / Combined: 4486) Please keep in mind these scores are based on hardware running at manufacturers' stock speeds (so no overclocking) and an ambient room temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (or 77 degrees Fahrenheit). It's also worth noting that after monitoring temperatures during these various tests, the maximum GPU temperature recorded was a respectable 74 degrees Celsius. Having said the above, I thought it might also be helpful if I shared a specifications sheet of sorts that provides more details.... GPU Series / Model: NVIDIA GeForce 900 Series / GTX 970 Clock Speed: 1190 MHz (Base) and 1342 (Boost) Processor Cores: 1664 CUDA Cores Memory Size / Type: 4 GBs of GDDR5 Memory Interface / Effective Clock: 256-bit running at 7 Gbps (or 7010 MHz) Video Ports: x1 HDMI, x1 DisplayPort, x1 DVI-I and x1 DVI-D (all of which have been tested and work fine) Cooler: ACX 2.0 (dual-fan / heatsink) design Power: 6-pin + 6-pin (ports) and research indicates this card will draw 150+ watts of power under heavy load (and the recommended minimum power supply is 500 watts). FYI Note: a PCI Express slot can supply 75 watts of power, a 6-pin connector another 75 watts and an 8-pin connector an additional 150 watts. Size (L x W): 9.50" x 4.38" and a footprint that covers two slots. Weight: 1 lbs 7 oz Other Notes: Please do not try to compare the processor cores and the related core clock speeds for AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. Their core processing architectures are different, so their specifications are not comparable. More specifically, the AMD Stream Processors are smaller and incorporate a simpler design relative to NVIDIA CUDA cores (that are larger and more complex). In other words, more AMD Stream Processors compared to NVIDIA CUDA cores does not necessarily equate to a faster graphics card processor. In addition, the AMD Stream Processors will run at a lower clock speed (measured in MHz) compared to NVIDIA CUDA cores, and this does not necessarily translate to a slower graphics card processor. So again, these processor specifications are just not comparable. Now memory specifications, etc., are generally comparable. In terms of condition, this is a used graphics card that I have refurbished (as discussed above). I can usually find some minor scuffs and marks that are typical of a used offering (and there are some here), but overall the graphics card cleaned up well (inside and out) and performed as expected during all my stress testing. I'll end up keeping a few of my older graphics cards for potential future builds from this era, but right now I just have too many on the shelf. So I have decided to part with some of them to those that may have a more urgent need relative to mine. You may visit our store by clicking on this "Store Home Page" link. Note to international customers regarding shipping... We apologize to those that feel some of our international shipping charges are too high. We only charge actual shipping rates, but once an order exceeds a certain amount, we hesitate to use the least expensive US Postal Services First Class International service. We feel this way, because this service is not trackable or insurable...so more risk of loss. We prefer the US Postal Services Priority Mail International service for more expensive orders, because this service is trackable at USPS.com and insurable...so less risk of loss. Unfortunately, this service is more expensive, especially for smaller/lighter packages, relative to the First Class International service. We are sorry about these higher shipping costs, but hopefully our notes help to explain why this is the case. Note to international customers regarding customs... We also apologize to those that feel their country import taxes, duties and brokerage fees are excessive. As a small US business, we are required by customs' laws to declare each order as a retail sale. Additionally, the declared order value must be equal to total store purchases and/or winning auction bids (less any shipping costs, as these are not considered in the declared value). As a result, each customer will be responsible for paying his/her own country taxes, duties and brokerage fees, which will be collected upon delivery. Again, we apologize for these additional costs, but we cannot afford the penalties and fines that come with breaking customs' laws...so we have to strictly abide by them.

Price: 69.99 USD

Location: Argonia, Kansas

End Time: 2024-11-19T16:23:35.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD